Ad Attack!

Ad Attack!

Social Studies/Language Arts Activity

In this activity students will analyze the "hidden" messages of
advertisements targeted to their age group.

WHAT YOU NEED

• videotaped advertisements targeted at early adolescents
• magazines and newspapers that can be cut up
  
• Ad Attack! analysis charts
• art supplies (optional)

WHAT TO DO

1. Show the videotape and ask the class:

• What was your favorite commercial? Why?
• Which product seemed the most desirable based on the ad? Why?
  
• What advertising techniques did you recognize? (These may include celebrity endorsement, promises of being part of the crowd, improving looks, improving athletic performance, increasing sex appeal, etc.)

2. Lead a discussion about the young people portrayed in the
advertisements:

• How do they look?
  
• What do they do?
  
• How do they dress?
  
• What do they care about?
  
• Where do they live?
  
• Are these realistic portrayals of kids this age? Why or why not?
  
• How does it make you feel if your life isn't like theirs?

3. Have students look through magazines and newspapers for examples of
advertisements that feature young and older teens. Divide the class into groups and distribute the ads among them. Have each group take several ads and analyze them, using the Ad Attack chart. Tell students to staple each ad to its analysis chart.

4. Bring students together as a class to discuss their findings. In
summation, point out that while advertisers don't deliberately try to undermine the self-confidence of young teens, the image they present of what adolescent life is like is often unrealistic. It might help to remember the purpose of such advertising and to resist allowing these images to lower self-esteem.

TEACHING OPTIONS

• Students can use the Ad Attack charts to review television commercials at home.
• Students may create advertisements that more realistically portray what kids their age are like.
  

--Amber Nash